Utah Jazz basketball: What to expect from the Celtics tonight

After beating the Toronto Raptors in triple overtime for their first road victory of the season, the Utah Jazz travel to Boston to take on the Celtics.

After beating the Toronto Raptors in triple overtime for their first road victory of the season, the Utah Jazz travel to Boston to take on the Celtics.

Boston has struggled at home this season. The Celtics have lost two of their three home games, including a 99-88 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, a game that was never close, and a 106-100 loss to the Philadephia 76ers.

But Utah's attempt at a two-game road win streak probably will not be won easy.

The Celtics are hot. They have won two in a row on the road and four of their last five games. The Celtics haven't lost since inserting Brandon Bass and Jason Terry into the starting lineup.

Terry, the former Sixth Man of the Year, was brought over from the Dallas Mavericks to give the Celtics scoring off the bench, but has become a starter. In the Celtics' 101-95 win in Chicago, Terry scored 13 points, while Bass added 16. Rajon Rondo finished the game with 20 points, 10 assists and nine boards.

All five Celtics starters reached double-figures in scoring, and the team as a whole had just eight turnovers in the win.

"Our team is starting to find its way," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers told the Boston Herald. "We thought with this group coming in that we could score, but it just takes time, and (Monday) I thought by far was our best rhythm offensively."

Jazz fans can appreciate stellar play at the point guard position, and Rondo has no problem performing in a stellar fashion. Rondo leads the league in assists per game with 12.9, and has dished out at least 10 assists in 31 straight games. That's the longest streak since the one and only John Stockton had 10-plus assists in 37 consecutive games from Feb. 27 to Nov. 29, 1989.

But Rondo has been working on other aspects of his game during that streak--namely, his jump shot.

Rondo made just 10 3-pointers and shot 44.8 percent from the field all of last season. So far in this young season, Rondo has drained 52.8 percent of his shots and made three shots from beyond the arc.

"The shot attempts are up, the scoring average is up, and we need it," Paul Pierce told Boston.com. "He works hard at his craft. I feel like being around here I have been a part of that, just seeing his growth as a player, and it's beautiful to watch him come into his own. I consider him the best point guard in the league, the things he's able to do out there and he's scoring the ball like that."

With Rondo's great passing and improved shooting, getting a win in Boston could prove a difficult task for Al Jefferson and the Jazz. Not only because Rondo's really good, but because Al Jefferson struggles to win in Beantown. Since being traded by the Celtics after playing his first three seasons in Boston, Jefferson is 0-9 against them.

Jefferson and the Jazz hope to be the next team to drop the Celtics in Boston when they play tonight.